Outside plug door system

ABSTRACT

A door system for high-speed rapid transit and railroad passenger car applications including a mechanism for supporting one or more doors and for driving the doors through a compound movement between open and closed positions. The doors, when in open position, are situated outside the vehicle and along one side of the door opening, and during the closing cycle plug into the opening from the outside.

United States Patent 1191 Daugirdas et al.

[11] 3,826,042 July 30, 1974 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS I OUTSIDE PLUG DOOR SYSTEM InventorSI Kristupas Daugifdas, Wilmette; 421,173 11/1925 Gennany 49/214 Redreddy Sukumar Re y, C ic g 1,017,394 1/1966 Great Britain. 49/215 both of III. 1,315,251 12/1962 France 49/215 [73] Assignee: V.A.C. Industries, Inc. 1459'l53 4/1969 Germany 49,110

[ 1 Filedi y 6, 1972 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor [21] APPL No; 269,446 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Lloyd L. Zickert 52 us. c1 49/213, 49/209, 49/216 1571 ABSTRACT Il lt. CI. A door ystem for high 5peed rapid transit and rail. Fleld 0f Search 49/214 116, 113, 122, road passenger car applications including a mecha- /2 370, 209 nism for supporting one or more doors and for driving the doors through a compound movement between [56] References C ted open and closed positions. The doors, when in open UNITED STATES PATENTS position, are situated outside the vehicle and along 2,056,224 10/1935 Dart 49/213 one Side f the door Owning, and during the closing 2,893,506 7/1959 Daugirdas 49/13 x cycle P Into the Openmg from the Outside- 3,453,778 7/1969 Daugirdas 49/214 3,462,881 8/1969 Lynn et al 49/111 20 Clalms, 15 Drawlhg Ftgut'es 25 I J z 2| h SHEET 2 (IF 7 PAIENTEumsomu sum 5 or 1 wdl OUTSIDE PLUG DOOR SYSTEM This invention relates in general to door systems for passenger vehicles, such as high-speed rapid transit railroad passenger cars, and buses, and more particularly to a door system including single or bi-parting doors that plug a door opening from the outside.

With the adventof newly designed multi-passenger vehicles such as high-speed rapid transit and railroad passenger cars and buses, together with a desire for saving of interior space, the need for an appropriate door system to allow ingress and engress of passengers becomes quite important. The increased speed at which such passenger vehicles are driven also points a need for an appropriate door system.

Accordingly, the present invention concerns an outside plug door system wherein the door or doors for a passenger opening when in open position are positioned outside the vehicle and along one side of the opening and during the closing cycle are moved toward the opening and plugged into the opening to provide a door closure arrangement that is capable of overcoming heretofore known difficulties. When in closed position, the door or doors present an outer surface contiguous with the outer side wall surface that enhances aesthetic appearance, improves noise sealing and weather sealing. Moreover, the linkage associated with the door system for supporting the door or doors and driving same between open and closed positions is concealed within the vehicle inside space when the door or doors are closed and the vehicle is in motion.

The door system of the invention includes upper and lower lever arms mounted at their inner ends within the vehicle on a vertical extending shaft and having mounted on their outer ends a door panel or leaf movable between open and closed positions. A door operator isconnected to the vertical shaft for driving the lever arms through a path of movement that results in opening and closing of the door panel. Preferably, the lower arm is located under the floor of the passenger compartment, while the upper arm is located on the ceiling of the passenger compartment. The leading edge of the door panel is guided by a specially preformed guide or cam track mounted within the vehicle and a guide or cam track follower coacting with the guide track and secured to the door panel adjacent the leading edge thereof. The guide track follower may be mounted at the top or bottom of the door and controls the compound movement of the door to produce a substantially parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of the door closing stroke and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately percent of the door closing stroke. During opening of the door panel, it is first unplugged outwardly of the side of the vehicle and then moved laterally along the side of the vehicle and to one side of the door opening.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an outside plug door system for passenger vehicles, such as high-speed rapid transit cars, to allow opening of a door panel to the outside of the vehicle and closing of the panel'through a plugging action that renders the door panel substantially contiguous with the outer surface of the vehicle.

Another object of the invention is in the provision of a door panel supporting and operating mechanism for passenger vehicles which is highly reliable and efficient in saving vehicle inside space by eliminating door pockets and providing improved weather and noise sealing relationship with a door opening.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved door system for passenger vehicles wherein the door opens to the exterior of the vehicle and plugs the opening upon closing and where the associated linkage for supporting and operating the door is concealed within the vehicle inside space when the door is closed andthe vehicle is in motion.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary broken cut-away view of a vehicle employing a door system according to the present invention and showing certain parts in vertical elevation;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 illustrating in solid lines the door panel in closed position and in dotted lines the slightly open and fully open positions of the door panel and associated linkage;

FIG. 3 is a top plan sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and showing the door operator and associated linkage where the door and asso ciated linkage are illustrated in solid lines when the door is closed and the door and associated linkage is illustrated in dash-dot lines when the door is open;

FIG. 4 is an outside broken elevational view, with some parts further cut away for purposes of clarity, of a modified door system according to the invention where a pair of door panels is driven through the opening and closing cycles from a single door operator;

FIG. 5 is a broken vertical elevational view of the door system of FIG. 4 and taken substantially along line 5-5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is somewhat diagrammatic top plan view of the door system of FIG. 4 illustrating the door panels closed in solid lines and the door panels in partially open and open positions in dash-dot lines;

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional top plan view of a modified door system according to the invention especially useful for buses and illustrating the doorsand associated linkage in solid lines when the door panels are closed and in dotted lines when the door panels are open;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the door operating mechanism-shown in FIG. 7, and taken generally along lines 8-8 thereof;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view, with some parts shown in section, of the cam follower assembly for the door operator mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical elevational view of the door operator and associated linkage of the embodiment of FIG. 7, and taken generally along the line 10-10 thereof;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken horizontally through a door panel and illustrating a door trailing edge interlock where the interlock is shown solid when in closed position and dash-dot when in open position;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 7 of a door system, and which difiers from FIG. 7 primarily in that a pair of door operators or actuators is shown for con- FIG. 13 is a rear elevational view of the door system of FIG. 12, taken generally along line 13-13 thereof;

FIG. 14 is a detailed vertical sectional view of the cam follower assembly for the embodiment of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 15 is a vertical side elevational view ofthe door operating mechanism, and taken generally along line 15l5 of FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, the door system illustrated is associated with a passenger vehicle for opening and closing a door opening 21 in a side wall 22 of the vehicle to permit ingress and engress of passengers through the door opening. The vehicle 20 also includes a roof 23 and a floor structure 24. The details of the passenger compartment are not illustrated as they form no part of the invention, it being appreciated that the invention is concerned with mechanism for opening and closing one or more door panels for a door opening in a passenger vehicle. Further, the passenger vehicle may be in the form of a high-speed railroad transit car or a bus. A single door panel 25 is illustrated as closing the door opening 21 when in closed position. The outside surface 26 of the door panel 25 is shown as being contiguous with the outer surface of the side wall 22 when the door panel is in closed position. This arrangement enhances the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle.

The mechanism for supporting the door panel 25 and for driving the door panel between open and closed positions is arranged within the vehicle when the door panel is closed and functions to position the door panel outward of the vehicle side wall and adjacent to the door opening as illustrated in dash-dot linesin FIG. 2 when the door is in open position. Accordingly, this eliminates the necessity of providing a door pocket into which the door may move when moving through the opening stroke or cycle and thereby conserving on interior space within the vehicle. Moreover, the door supporting and driving mechanism operates to plug the door into the door opening at the completion ofthe closing stroke or cycle to assist in eliminating the introduction within the vehicle of noise and/or weather.

The door supporting and driving mechanism includes an upper lever arm 30 connected at one end to a vertical shaft 31 and at the other end to a door panel 25, and a lower lever arm 32 likewise connected at its inner end to a pivotally mounted vertical shaft 31 and connected at its outer end to the door panel 25. The vertical shaft 31, while shown as including upper and lower segments 31a and 31b connected together by coupling member 33 could be provided as a single shaft member, and will be generally described operationally as a single member for purposes of clarity. The shaft is suitably bearingly supportedto the frame of the vehicle by supports 34 and 35 but may be supported in any suitable manner that is structurally capable of carrying the lever arms 30 and 32 and the door panel 25.

The lever arms 30 and 32 are secured at their inner ends to the vertical shaft 31 for movement therewith and are pivotally connected to the top and bottom ends or edges of the door panel 25 at approximately the central portions of the door panel. Preferably, the upper lever arm 30 is carried within the vehicle above the ceiling, while the lower lever arm 32 is preferably arranged below the floor. Moreover, it is preferable that the weight of the door panel 25 is supported mostly by the lower lever arm 32, while the upper lever arm 30 serves to guide the door movement during opening and closing thereof.

As seen particularly in FIG. 1, the upper lever arm 30 is formed to the contour of the roof 23 so that it moves above the ceiling 36 of the passenger compartment. Otherwise this lever could take a straight form with respect to the horizontal configuration of the vehicle. Looking at the lever 30 in plan view as shown in FIG. 2, it includes an inner straight section 30a and at its outer end a straight section 30b which extends at right angles to the section 30a wherein the lever is shaped somewhat like a boomerang or is L-shaped. When the upper lever arm 30 has been driven to the position where the door panel 25 is open, the section 30b lies along the outside surface of the side wall 22 of the vehicle and in substantially parallel relation to the side wall. In this position the inner section 30a of the lever arm extends substantially perpendicular to the side wall 22 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The lower lever arm 32, by being arranged below the floor structure of the vehicle, can take a rectilinear form as illustrated in FIG. 3 and moves from the position in solid and dotted lines when the door is closed to the position shown in dash-dot lines when the door is in open position. A door operator actuator 39 is also shown in FIG. 3 mounted below the floor, which may be of the pneumatic or electric type, and includes a crank arm 40 connected to an output shaft 41. The free end of the crank arm is pivotally connected to a drive rod 42 that is in turn pivotally connected to an arm 43 that extends from the lower lever arm 32. Accordingly, opening and closing motion is imparted from the actuator 39 to the door panel 25 through this connecting linkage arrangement. It should be appreciated that the door actuator 39 and connecting linkage could be connected to any part of the vertical shaft 31. For example, the door actuator could be mounted above the ceiling 36 if so desired.

Control of the door panel 25 which is pivotally connected to the upper and lower lever arms 30 and 32 is accomplished by means of a cam follower assembly which includes a guide or cam track 45 suitably supported within the vehicle and illustrated in this embodiment as being mounted on the upper side of the ceiling 36, and a guide or cam track follower 46 secured to the leading edge of the door panel 25. The track 45 includes a straight section 47 extending substantially parallel to the side wall of the vehicle and along which the cam follower moves during the first part of the opening stroke and the last part of the closing stroke of the door panel, and a curved section 48 extends along the door opening and provides a somewhat parallelogram movement of the door panel during the door opening and closing strokes when the cam follower is engaging same. While the cam follower may be in any suitable form, it includes a follower arm 49 extending from or near the leading edge of the door panel 25 and having a pair of rollers 50 for engaging opposite sides of the track 45. In this embodiment the guide track 47 is in the form of a strip especially preformed to give the desired opening and closing strokes for the door, but it may be appreciated that the track may be a rod or other form as long as it is suitable for giving the guiding action to the door follower.

During the opening stroke or cycle of the door operator, the door panel 25 moves from its closed position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 and also shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 outwardly as the upper lever arm 30 and lower lever arm 32 apply an outward force to the door panel with the leading edge being held inward when the follower moves along the straight track section 47. This effectively unplugs the door and presents the trailing edge of the door outward of the vehicle side wall so that further movement can drive it alongside the outer wall. Continued movement of the lever arms brings the cam follower 49 to the curved section 48 of the track and allows the door panel to swing out and along the side wall 22 of the vehicle as the cam follower moves along the track section 48 in a generally parallelogram fashion with respect to the side wall of the vehicle until the door panel 25 takes the completely open position as shown in dash-dot lines in FIG. 2 laterally of the door opening 21 and outward of the side wall 22. During the closing stroke or cycle, the door operating mechanism produces substantially parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of the door closing stroke, and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately lO percent of the door closing stroke to obtain the outside plugging action of the door. Suitable seals may be provided along the periphery of the door or the periphery of the door opening for coaction to provide tight noise and weather sealing. In the event that tighter weather and noise sealing is desired, an auxiliary actuator may be used to engage the door panel trailing edge in the lastpart of the door closing stroke.

The embodiment of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 primarily in that the door operating mechanism of the invention is applied to a vehicle having a somewhat different crosssectional configuration and where a pair of door panels or leaves are shown associated with the door opening of the vehicle.

The vehicle, generally indicated by the numeral 55, includes a body having a floor 56, a roof 57, a side wall 58, a door opening 59 in the side wall 58, and a pair of door panels 60 and 61. A ceiling 62 is provided within the vehicle having a mounting plate 63 thereof. As especially seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outer surface of the door panels 60 and 61 are contiguous with the outer surface of the vehicle side wall 58.

As in the previous embodiment, each door panel is supported by and driven through the opening and closing strokes or cycles by a pair of lever arms. For the door panel 60, an upper lever arm 65 and a lower lever arm 66 are provided which are secured at their inner ends to a vertical shaft 67. The outer ends of the lever arms are pivotally connected to the upper and lower edges of the door panel 61 at approximately thecenter of the door panel and along pivotal axes that coalign with respect to a vertical axis that is parallel to the shaft 67. The shaft 67 is suitably supported for rotation in the frame of the vehicle, such as by bearing members 68, 69 and 70. The lower lever arm 66 is straight, while the upper lever arm 65 includes an inner segment 65a and an outer segment 65b extending at right angles to the inner segment. Control of the pivotal movement of the door panel 60 on the ends of the lever anns 65 and 66 is accomplished by a cam and cam follower assembly which includes a guide orcam track 71 mounted on top of the mounting plate 63 and a cam or track follower 72 connected to and extending from the leading edge of the door panel and having a pair of spaced rollers 73 that engage opposite sides of the track 71. The track is composed of 'a first segment 71a of relatively rectilin ear configuration and a second segment 71b of a relatively curved configuation for the purpose of imparting to the door panel 60 when it is opened and closed the desired compound movement to enable the door panel to take a position alongside the door opening 59 and outward of the vehicle side wall 58 when it is in open position and to plug the door panel in the final portion of the door closing stroke to the position illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 in solid lines.

A door operator or actuator 75 is provided for driving the door panel 60 through the opening and closing cycles and is drivingly connected to the door panel through a crank arm 76 that is connected to the vertical shaft 67 and at its free end pivotally connected to a drive rod 77 which is in turn connected at its other end to a circular crank plate 78 carried on the output shaft 79 of the actuator. Again, the actuator may be pneumatic or electric and when energized will drive the crank plate in the direction desired when imparting opening or closing movement to the door panel 60. While the actuator and connecting linkage to the vertical shafts are mounted above the ceiling adjacent the upper ends of the door panels, it should be appreciated they could be mounted below the floor adjacent the lower ends of the door panels.

The door panel 61 is likewise opened and closed synchronously with the door panel 60 by the actuator 75 and includes a drive mechanism which is essentially of the opposite hand of that employed for the door panel 60 and which will be briefly referred to as including upper and lower lever arms 80 and 81 pivotally connected at their outer ends to the door panel 61 and con nected at their inner ends to a vertical shaft 82. The vertical shaft 82 is bearingly mounted to the frame of the vehicle by bearings 83, 84 and 85 or any other suitable bearings and is connected to the crank plate 78 through a crank arm 86 and a drive rod 87. The pivotal movement of the door panel 61 relative to the drive arms 80 and 81 during the opening and closing strokes is controlled by the cam or guide track 88 and follower 89.

Operation of the door mechanism for this embodiment (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) is identical to the operation of the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 with respect to the opening and closing strokes wherein during opening, the door panels are initially unplugged and then driven to their respective open positions alongside the vehicle side wall and outward of the door opening 59 as generally illustrated in FIG. 6. The door closing stroke, like that of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, results in moving the door panels substantially through a parallelogram movement for approximately 90 percent of the stroke and through a plugging movement during the remaining approximately 10 percent of the stroke to bring the door panels in line with the side wall of the vehicle. It should also be noted here that the upper lever arms are positioned above the ceiling 62, while the lower lever arms are positioned below the floor 56.

Another embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 11, which, while still incorporating the outside plug door system, illustrates a variation in linkage structure and door panel sealing arrangement. Moreover, this embodiment is applicable for a passenger bus although it may be used on a rapid transit railroad vehicle.

The drive mechanism is essentially illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, where the vehicle is generally designated by the numeral 95, which includes a side wall 96 having a door opening 97 and coacting with the opening of a pair of door panels or leaves 98 and 99. As noted in FIG. 10, the roof 100 of the vehicle extends above the door 99 and the drive mechanism for opening and closing the doors, generally designated by the numeral 101, is located inside the roof of the vehicle and generally adjacent the upper edges of the door panels. As in the previous embodiments, the door panels 98 and 99 are supported by upper and lower'lever arms carried on vertically mounted support shafts, the support shaft 102 being provided for door panel 98 and the support shaft 103 being provided for door panel 99. An upper lever 104 is connected at its inner end to the support shaft 102 for movement therewith and pivotally at its outer end to the upper end of the door panel 98. Similarly, an upper lever arm 105 is provided between the support shaft 103 and the door panel 99. It will be appreciated that lower lever arms are provided for the door panels between the vertical shafts and the door panels in the same manner as in the previous embodiments, but such are omitted here as not necessary to be shown in view of the specific disclosure of the previous embodiments.

Also as provided in the previous embodiments and in accordance with the invention, a cam follower assembly controls the pivotal movement of the door panels with respect to the lever arms. A horizontally extending cam mounting plate 108 is suitably supported by the framework of the vehicle adjacent the upper ends of the door panels on top of which is mounted an arcuately formed guide or cam track 109 adjacent to door panel 98 for coaction with follower 110 that extends between the cam track and the leading edge of the door panel. For guiding the movement of the door panel 99 a cam or guide track 111 of arcuate configuration is mounted on the bottom side of the mounting plate 108 to coact with follower 112 for controlling movement of the door panel 99. More specifically, the follower 110 includes the cam follower arm 113 secured at one end to the leading edge of the door panel 98 and having mounted at the other end a pair of guide rollers 114 rotatably carried in a roller supporting plate 115 having a stub shaft 116 pivotally connected to the cam follower arm 113. Similarly, the follower 112 includes a cam follower arm 1 17 having a pair of guide rollers 118 rotatably carried by a roller mounting plate 119 which has a stub shaft 120 pivotally mounted to the end of the follower arm. The rollers of each cam follower arm respectively engage the opposite faces of the cam tracks 109 and 111.

Opening and closing power is imparted to the door panels 98 and 99, through the vertical shafts 102 and 103 and the upper and lower lever arms, by means of a single door operator or actuator 123 which is also mounted above the door panels in a suitable fashion to the frame of the vehicle which includes an output shaft 124 which carries a crank plate 125 but simultaneously imparts motion to the vertical shafts 102 and 103 through drive rods 126 and 127 and crank arms 128 and 129, respectively. The drive rods 126 and 127 are pivotally carried adjacent the periphery of the crank plate and also pivotally connected to the crank arms 128 and 129.

Because the door panels 98 and 99 have overlapping leading edges when in closed position, the opening and closing strokes of the door panels are differentiated to accommodate this feature through the structure of the driving linkages. More particularly, the leading edges of the door panels 98 and 99 include mating resilient seals 130 and 131, it being noted in FIG. 7 that when the doors are in closed position the seals overlap and the seal 130 is positioned on the outer side of the vehicle. Accordingly, door panel 99 must lead door panel 98 in the plugging movement. Lip sealing members 132 and 133 are provided along the vertical edges of the door opening 97 for respectively coacting with sealing plates 134 and 135 that are carried on the trailing edges of the door panels 98 and 99. It can now be appreciated that while the door panels 98 and 99 move generally in unison during opening and closing strokes, the door panel 99, during the closing stroke, must bring the sealing lip 131 to a substantially final position just prior to the plugging of the door panel 98 and the movement of the sealing lip 130 into overlapping position with respect to the sealing lip 131. Therefore, the configuration of the control linkage and the cam tracks for each door are slightly different to accommodate this final closing motion. In this respect, it will be seen that the boomerang shape of the cam follower arms 112 and 113 are slightly different, and the lengths and arcuate form of the cam tracks 109 and 111 are slightly different.

Moreover, the angles between the crank arms and the upper lever arms similarly vary to accommodate the differential in motion. Finally, it should be observed that some of the differentials of the driving components for the door leaves are also required because of the differential in width of the door panels 98 and 99 and because of the outer contour of the vehicle which is more arcuate toward the door panel 98 than the door panel 99. However, the general movement of the door panel with respect to providing an outside plug door system is consistent with the previous embodiments in that during the opening stroke the doors move outwardly and then alongside the vehicle side wall to the opposite sides of the door opening 97. The contour of the upper lever arms and the cam follower arms is such as to permit these arms to be wholly positioned within the vehicle when the doors are in closed position, while allowing them to at least partially move out and along the side of the vehicle when the doors are in open position. As seen particularly in FIG. 7, it will be appreciated that the lower arms which are not shown in this embodiment would be straight and of a similar configuration as in the previous embodiments and located below the floor of the vehicle.

In order to assist in stabilizing the door panels when subjected to vibrations during vehicle travel, a plugging interlock is provided on the trailing edge of each door panel as illustrated in FIG. 11. This interlock includes an outwardly directed locking member 139 secured to the side wall 96 of the vehicle at the door opening defining with a resilient sealing member 140 extending along the opening a groove 141 which receives a plugging lock member 142 carried on the trailing edge of the door panel and extending inwardly so that in closed position the lock member 142 tightly engages both the lock member 139 and the sealing member 140 as it enters the groove 141. Suitable angular faces are provided on the locking members 139 and 142 to assist in giving the proper plugging and locking action between the door panel and the side wall of the vehicle. This interlock prevents lateral vibratory movement of the door panels when they are in closed position to enhance the sealing relationship of the door panels with respect to the door opening and to reduce wear action on the supporting members of the door. One or more interlocks may be provided for each trailing edge of a door panel. Moreover, this interlock could be provided for use with respect to any of the embodiments inasmuch as it works especially in connection with an outside plugging action.

Another variation in the invention is illustrated in the embodiment of FIGS. 12 to which differs from the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 11 primarily in that a pair of door actuators are utilized, one for each door panel, and the outer contour of the vehicle for this mechanism is substantially straight or planar. Further, the lengths of the door panels are the same. It should be further recognized that the linkages and cam tracks are identical and that the door movement of each panel may be synchronized so that they move substantially together. The vehicle includes a side wall 150, having a door opening 151 closable by door panels 152 and 153. The driving mechanism for door panel 152 includes upper lever arm 154 carried by the vertical shaft 155 and pivotally connected to the door panel, together with the cam or guide track 156 and follower 157. Opening and closing movement is imparted to the door panel 152 by the door actuator 158 having an output shaft 159. A crank plate 160 is connected to the output shaft 159 and to the vertical shaft 155 through the drive rod 161 and crank arm 162. The cam track 156 is secured to the upper side of the cam mounting plate 163 and coacts with rollers 164 carried on the inner end of the cam follower arm 165 in the same manner as the embodiment of FIGS. 7 to 10.

Similarly, the driving linkage for the door panel 153 includes upper lever arm 166 connected at its inner end to the vertical shaft 167 and at its outer end to the door panel 153. Actuator 168 imparts movement to the door panel through its output shaft 169, the crank plate 170, the drive rod 171, crank arm 172, the vertical shaft 167 and the upper lever arm 166. A follower 173 interacts between the leading edge of the door panel 153 and a cam track 174 which is mounted on the underside of the cam mounting plate 163. Rollers 175 are carried on the inner end of the cam follower arm 176 of follower 173 in the same manner as in the previous embodiment to coact with the cam track 174.

The upper lever arms 154 and 156, together with the cam follower arms 165 and 176 are boomerang shaped to provide the necessary action and clearance during the opening and closing movement of the door panels 152 and 153. As in the previous embodiments, during the door closing cycles, the door panels move along in an approximate parallelogram path relative to the outer side wall of the vehicle approximately 90 percent of the stroke and then through a plugging movement approximately the remaining 10 percent of the stroke to ultimately align the outer surface of the door panels with the outer surface of the side wall 150. The advantage of having door actuators, one for each door panel as shown in this embodiment, is to provide a backup for at least opening one of the door panels in the event one actuator is not functioning.

It should be appreciated that the door panel side wall interlock feature shown in FIG. 11 could also be applied tothis embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, as well as any of the embodiments disclosed. The lower lever arms for supporting the door panels, while omitted in the detailed showings of FIGS. 12 to 15, would be of the same type as in the previous embodiments wherein they would be secured to the vertical shafts and arranged below the floor of the vehicle.

it will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a vehicle having a door opening in the vehicle wall selectively opened and closed by at least one door leaf, a mechanism for supporting the door leaf and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaf to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the vehicle wall and laterally of the door opening to a fully opened position outside the vehicle wall and along one side of the opening, said mechanism comprising upper and lower door leaf sup port levers pivotally mounted at their inner ends interiorly of the vehicle, said door leaf being pivotally mounted at the upper and-lower ends to the outer ends of said levers, guide means mounted on the vehicle adjacent the door and the inner side of the vehicle wall and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of the door and coacting with the track, said track being shaped to coact with the support levers to provide during the closing movement of the door leaf an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, a door leaf operator having an output shaft, and linkage means connecting the output shaft to the door leaf to drive the door between open and closed positions.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the inner ends of the levers are carried on a vertically extending shaft.

3 The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the operator is located interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the lower end of the door.

4. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the operator is located interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the upper end of the door.

5. In a vehicle having a door opening in a side wall and a pair of door leaves operable between closed position to close the opening and open position to open the opening, a mechanism for supporting the door leaves and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaves to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the side wall and in opposite directions laterally of the door opening to fully opened position outside the side wall and along opposite sides of the opening, said mechanism comprising a pair of vertically extending rotatably mounted shafts, one mounted inwardly of the side wall adjacent the trailing edge of each door leaf, lever means interconnecting the shafts and respective doors, guide lll means mounted interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the side wall and each door leaf and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of each door guidably coacting with each track, each said track being shaped to coact with the lever means to control each door leaf movement to define during closing movement of the door leaves an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately percent of door leaf closing movement, and door operator means connected to said shafts to drive the door leaves between open and closed positions.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the lever means includes upper and lower levers, the upper levers being generally L-shaped and lower levers being generally straight.

7. The combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the door leaf operator means includes a single door leaf operator having an output shaft connected by linkage to said shafts.

8. The combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the door leaf operator means includes a pair of door leaf operators, each having an output shaft and connected by linkage to said shafts.

9. The combination as defined in claim 8, wherein each follower means is connected to the leading edge of a respective door.

10. The combination as defined in claim 9, and interlock means at the trailing edges of said doors.

11. In a vehicle having a door opening in the vehicle wall selectively opened and closed by at least one door leaf, a mechanism for supporting the door leaf and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaf to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the vehicle wall and laterally of the door opening to a fully opened position outside the vehicle wall and along one side of the opening, said mechanism comprising lever means pivotally mounted at their inner ends interiorly of the vehicle, said door leaf being pivotally mounted at the upper and lower ends to the outer end of said lever means, guide means mounted interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the vehicle wall and the door and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of the door coacting with the track, said track being shaped to coact with said lever means to control door leaf movement to define during the closing cycle an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, a door leaf actuator drivingly connected to the door leaf to drive the door between open and closed positions.

12. In a vehicle having a door opening in a side wall and a pair of door leaves operable between closed position to close the opening and open position to open the opening, a mechanism for supporting the door leaves and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaves to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the side wall and in opposite directions laterally of the door opening to fully opened position outside the side wall and along opposite sides of the opening, said mechanism comprising a pair of vertically extending rotatably mounted shafts, one mounted inwardly of the side wall adjacentthe trailing edge of each door leaf, lever means interconnecting the shafts and respective doors including upper and lower door leaf support lever arms, the upper lever arms being shaped generally like a boomerang and connected at their inner ends to the respective vertical shafts for pivotal movement therewith and pivotally connected at their outer ends to the central upper edges of the door leaves, the lower levers being generally straight and connected at their inner ends to the respective vertical shafts for pivotal movement therewith and pivotally connected at their outer ends to the central lower edges of the door leaves, guide means coacting with the lever arms for controlling the relative angular position of the door leaves to the lever arms including a guide track for each door leaf mounted interiorly of the vehicle and a guide follower connected to the leading edge of each door leaf and guidably engaging the respective guide tracks, said guide tracks being shaped to coact with the lever arms to define during closing movement of the door leaves an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, and door operator means connected to said shafts to drive the door leaves between open and closed positions.

13. The combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the upper lever arms are positioned above the ceiling of the vehicle passenger compartment and the lower lever arms are positioned below the floor thereof.

14. The combination as defined in claim 13, wherein the door operator means includes a single door actuator.

15. The combination as defined in claim 14, wherein the door actuator is mounted adjacent the upper ends of the door leaves.

16. The combination as defined in claim 14, wherein the door actuator is mounted adjacent the lower ends of the door leaves.

17. The combination as defined in claim 13, wherein the door operator means includes a pair of door actuators, one for each door leaf.

18. The combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the leading edges of the door leaves overlap.

19. The combination as defined in claim 12, and interlock means on the trailing edges of the door leaves and the door opening.

20. The combination as defined in claim 19, wherein said interlock means includes a lock member on the trailing edge of each door leaf coacting with a lock member on the side wallof the vehicle at the door opening for locking the door to the vehicle side wall when in closed position against lateral movement.

a a a sa 

1. In a vehicle having a door opening in the vehicle wall selectively opened and closed by at least one door leaf, a mechanism for supporting the door leaf and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaf to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the vehicle wall and laterally of the door opening to a fully opened position outside the vehicle wall and along one side of the opening, said mechanism comprising upper and lower door leaf support levers pivotally mounted at their inner ends interiorly of the vehicle, said door leaf being pivotally mounted at the upper and lower ends to the outer ends of said levers, guide means mounted on the vehicle adjacent the door and the inner side of the vehicle wall and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of the door and coacting with the track, said track being shaped to coact with the support levers to provide during the closing movement of the door leaf an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, a door leaf operator having an output shaft, and linkage means connecting the output shaft to the door leaf to drive the door between open and closed positions.
 2. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the inner ends of the levers are carried on a vertically extending shaft.
 3. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the operator is located interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the lower end of the door.
 4. The combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the operator is located interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the upper end of the door.
 5. In a vehicle having a door opening in a side wall and a pair of door leaves operable between closed position to close the opening and open position to open the opening, a mechanism for supporting the door leaves and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaves to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the side wall and in opposite directions laterally of the door opening to fully opened position outside the side wall and along opposite sides of the opening, said mechanism comprising a pair of vertically extending rotatably mounted shafts, one mounted inwardly of the side wall adjacent the trailing edge of each door leaf, lever means interconnecting the shafts and respective doors, guide means mounted interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the side wall and each door leaf and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of each door guidably coacting with each track, each said track being shaped to coact with the lever means to control each door leaf movement to define during closing movement of the door leaves an approximate Parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, and door operator means connected to said shafts to drive the door leaves between open and closed positions.
 6. The combination as defined in claim 5, wherein the lever means includes upper and lower levers, the upper levers being generally L-shaped and lower levers being generally straight.
 7. The combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the door leaf operator means includes a single door leaf operator having an output shaft connected by linkage to said shafts.
 8. The combination as defined in claim 6, wherein the door leaf operator means includes a pair of door leaf operators, each having an output shaft and connected by linkage to said shafts.
 9. The combination as defined in claim 8, wherein each follower means is connected to the leading edge of a respective door.
 10. The combination as defined in claim 9, and interlock means at the trailing edges of said doors.
 11. In a vehicle having a door opening in the vehicle wall selectively opened and closed by at least one door leaf, a mechanism for supporting the door leaf and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaf to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the vehicle wall and laterally of the door opening to a fully opened position outside the vehicle wall and along one side of the opening, said mechanism comprising lever means pivotally mounted at their inner ends interiorly of the vehicle, said door leaf being pivotally mounted at the upper and lower ends to the outer end of said lever means, guide means mounted interiorly of the vehicle adjacent the vehicle wall and the door and in the form of a track, follower means extending from the leading edge of the door coacting with the track, said track being shaped to coact with said lever means to control door leaf movement to define during the closing cycle an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, a door leaf actuator drivingly connected to the door leaf to drive the door between open and closed positions.
 12. In a vehicle having a door opening in a side wall and a pair of door leaves operable between closed position to close the opening and open position to open the opening, a mechanism for supporting the door leaves and for opening and closing same relative the door opening to cause the door leaves to be moved through a compound movement outwardly of the side wall and in opposite directions laterally of the door opening to fully opened position outside the side wall and along opposite sides of the opening, said mechanism comprising a pair of vertically extending rotatably mounted shafts, one mounted inwardly of the side wall adjacent the trailing edge of each door leaf, lever means interconnecting the shafts and respective doors including upper and lower door leaf support lever arms, the upper lever arms being shaped generally like a boomerang and connected at their inner ends to the respective vertical shafts for pivotal movement therewith and pivotally connected at their outer ends to the central upper edges of the door leaves, the lower levers being generally straight and connected at their inner ends to the respective vertical shafts for pivotal movement therewith and pivotally connected at their outer ends to the central lower edges of the door leaves, guide means coacting with the lever arms for controlling the relative angular position of the door leaves to the lever arms including a guide track for each door leaf mounted interiorly of the vehicle and a guide follower connected to the leading edge of each door leaf and guidably engaging the respective guide tracks, said guide tracks being shaped to coact with the leveR arms to define during closing movement of the door leaves an approximate parallelogram movement for the first approximately 90 percent of door leaf closing movement and a plugging movement for the remaining approximately 10 percent of door leaf closing movement, and door operator means connected to said shafts to drive the door leaves between open and closed positions.
 13. The combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the upper lever arms are positioned above the ceiling of the vehicle passenger compartment and the lower lever arms are positioned below the floor thereof.
 14. The combination as defined in claim 13, wherein the door operator means includes a single door actuator.
 15. The combination as defined in claim 14, wherein the door actuator is mounted adjacent the upper ends of the door leaves.
 16. The combination as defined in claim 14, wherein the door actuator is mounted adjacent the lower ends of the door leaves.
 17. The combination as defined in claim 13, wherein the door operator means includes a pair of door actuators, one for each door leaf.
 18. The combination as defined in claim 12, wherein the leading edges of the door leaves overlap.
 19. The combination as defined in claim 12, and interlock means on the trailing edges of the door leaves and the door opening.
 20. The combination as defined in claim 19, wherein said interlock means includes a lock member on the trailing edge of each door leaf coacting with a lock member on the side wall of the vehicle at the door opening for locking the door to the vehicle side wall when in closed position against lateral movement. 